In 1913, thanks to Andrew Carnegie, St. Petersburg finally received enough money to build the city’s first public library. The $17,500 grant was matched by the city and used to construct a Beaux-Arts style building next to Mirror Lake (the city’s original water reservoir).

Of the 3,000 libraries Carnegie funded in the US and abroad, only ten were awarded to Florida. Unlike the one built in my home town of Tucson, this one is still in use as a public library. Though it was almost demolished in the 1980s since it had fallen into disrepair.

Thankfully, the community rallied around the building, in 1987 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The restoration (and a sizable addition) took a decade to complete.

I’ve walked by this building several times over the past four years and only recently took the time to pop in. It was a pleasure to see the striking historic architecture still actively in use. It seems we actually have Colonel James Anderson to thank for this legacy.

When Andrew Carnegie was a poor, hard-working immigrant child Mr. Anderson gave him access to his personal library of over 400 volumes. Apparently, Carnegie took advantage of the offering to educate himself, eventually becoming a successful businessman*.

Carnegie was so grateful for the use of Anderson’s library that he “resolved, if ever wealth came to me, [to see to it] that other poor boys might receive opportunities similar to those for which we were indebted to the nobleman”.

*Though it’s been said he was quite a ruthless one, he’s known as one of the robber barons of America’s Gilded Age.

A quick visit to the beach after work is just so relaxing. I love where I live!

Yesterday evening I was standing in the lighting aisle at a big box store when a young couple approached. The man cleared his throat nervously and said, “Excuse me, you seem to have more experience at adulting than we do. Can you tell us the difference between these light bulbs?”

I laughed, a bit chagrined at the truth in his statement, though honestly, I was quite thankful that he didn’t outright call me old!

We proceeded to have an enlightening conversation about lumens and daylight versus soft white bulbs. As they walked away, the woman (who was very clearly expecting) muttered, “The things they don’t teach you in school…”

I don’t envy the learning curve she has ahead of her!

Today is the official opening day of Music on the Bay, I’ll be heading over for the festivities this afternoon. Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones (which is truly my favorite part of these events).

Hope you enjoy this song from the Wheeland Brothers, who will be playing Saturday night. 🎼🏝️☀️🍺🦜😎

Music on the Bay (MOTB) kicks off today over at Whiskey Joe’s in Tampa. It’s the Tampa Bay Parrot Head Club’s largest annual fundraising event (benefitting the local Shriners Hospital). It also happens to be a fantastic outdoor music festival and the weather this week couldn’t be better (low 80s and sunny).

There are 100 Trop Rock musicians performing over the next five days, some of them I’m familiar with but there are also quite a few that I’m looking forward to hearing. But the best part? Many of my friends from Texas will also be attending, it’s going to be an absolute blast!

In honor of this I thought I’d highlight a song from one of the incredibly talented artists, Eric Erdman. 🎼🏝️☀️🦜🍺😎 Phins Up!

Found this in my reusable shopping bag last night. Westley is such a silly little dude! 💖

Some locales have delicate plants such as crocuses and trilliums that signal Spring is on the way. Down here in St. Pete, we have a large and flamboyant Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia heterophylla).

This beauty creates quite a buzz every year, and not just because of all the bees that frequent it. If it was a bird it would be a flamingo because everyone flocks to see it. It truly is that stunning of a specimen!

I never know what I’m going to discover when I wander along the sand. I enjoy stumbling across fun little finds, especially when it’s art someone left behind for others to enjoy. 💖

What a fun way to wrap up a week, a Jimmy tribute band on the water near my house.

As tends to happen with these events, it was a colorful crowd full of characters (myself excluded, of course 😉).

This past Saturday I drove down to Palmetto to join a bird walk at Felt’s Audubon Preserve. I was intrigued for a couple reasons, it was a new location for me and they reported recent sightings of both Painted and Indigo Buntings.

We started off in thick fog, which wasn’t great for birding since it kept them hunkered down. There was plenty to catch my eye though, as the dew made for some fantastic sights.

By the time our guided tour wrapped up, the sun had chased off all the fog so I made another loop down the trail. I’m glad I did because I was treated to a brief sighting of a handsome male Painted Bunting (too fleeting for a photo), some Indigo Buntings, and a showy Red-bellied Woodpecker.

All in all, a lovely way to spend a muzzy morning!